Tango rendition in Mumbai carries forward experimentation in genre

Tango music, which began with cultural fusion on Argentina's borders around the 1880s, was rendered with a mix of choral sounds at the Indian premiere of "Misatango" by Argentine composer Martin Palmeri at the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) here on Tuesday.

Titled "Tango Tryst", the performance was organised by NCPA's SOI Chamber Orchestra and had a choir and orchestra render the "Misatango" -- a composition that bridges "two universes that are apparently not connected".

"In ‘Misa a Buenos Aires' (‘Misatango'), I've tried to make a bridge between two universes that are apparently not connected -- the choral sound and the tango," Palmeri told IANS over e-mail, adding that repertoires of a choir and tango orchestra were not traditional and the combination was "quite new".

Experimentation, however, was not new for the music genre, which had evolved and absorbed a lot of influences since its birth.

"The initial tango players started off around 1880; they were intuitive musicians. Normally they played different dances like estilos, cielitos and a kind of primitive milonga and tango.

"The tango started on the border of the city. When it arrived to the center of Buenos Aires, its development started in an orchestral way," the 53-year-old composer said.

He also said that the tango was "open to receive influences" as long as musicians retain respect for it.

"In the 1960s and 1970s, rock (music) started to come to Buenos Aires (Argentina's capital) and the tango was a little bit displaced. (Astor) Piazzolla, (Daniel) Binelli, (Rodolfo) Mederos and more composers took advantage of this and created new kind of tango connected with the sound of this new mondial tendency," he illustrated.

Palmeri, who is a composer, pianist, choir and orchestra conductor, composed the "Misatango" piece in 1995-96.

"With this work, I tried to give the choir a chance to perform the tango in a choral way. The ‘Misatango' is written with all the classical traditional sources but the orchestra gives the tango envelope," he explained.

"Tango Tryst" was presented by Palmeri, conductor Evgeny Bushkov and bandoneonist Dario Polonara with Goa University Choir and The Bangalore Men.